A callus is a thickened and/or hardened part of the skin, and can often be found on hands and feet. Often, the callus is dead skin. Calluses can appear on feet due to rubbing from poorly fitting shoes or excessive exercise, and can commonly be found on the heel, sides of the toes, or the ball of the foot. Calluses can appear on hands from rubbing and pinching of skin that occurs while lifting heavy objects or from regular weight-lifting, and can commonly be found on the palms right below the fingers.
There are a variety of known methods of removing calluses, most of these methods involve scraping, shaving, or rubbing the calluses until the dead skin has been removed. Other methods include softening the callus by soaking the callus in warm water or using lotions or creams. Known devices used to remove calluses or dead skin, include pumice stones, foot files, and a variety of abrasive devices. Some of these devices are electrically powered, and include a rotating or vibrating abrasive head.
The known abrasive devices have several drawbacks. Due to the shape of the abrasive or exfoliating surface, known devices are often unable to adjust to the contours or curvature of the surfaces where calluses generally occur. Accordingly, either the user often has to adjust their grip or move their wrist in order to optimize the angle at which the abrasive or exfoliating surface is contacting the callus or dead skin, or the user has to repeatedly cover the contoured areas several times with the abrasive device to effectively remove the callus or dead skin.